Interview

UN: Over half a million children risk dying of hunger

Over half a million children will soon die in northeastern Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen, if food is not delivered.

"We are not talking about fake news here, we are talking about 600,000 children who are literally going to die in the next three to four months," David Beasley, who heads the World Food Programme (WFP), told EUobserver earlier this week.

The stark warning comes ahead of a WFP funding shortfall that risks further aggravating what Beasley has described as the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II.

Beasley, who was in Brussels as part of a tour to raise funds, said that the Rome-based humanitarian organisation needs just under €1 billion for the next six months to feed 17 million people in all four countries.

Of those, around 1.4 million are severely malnourished children.

Cuts in funding in 2015 among EU states to the organisation, a branch of the United Nations, are said to have deepened the problem.

Saudis should fund aid to Yemen

The EU and member states are starting to pay more, but other countries around the world are falling behind, Beasley said.

"If you are not going to give us the money we need to feed the children, the people, then stop the conflict," he said, referring to a Saudi-led campaign in Yemen.

To fund all aid for Yemen, Beasley said he would be launching an appeal to Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf States.

"The Saudis ought to be funding 100 percent of the humanitarian needs there, no question. The Gulf States need to be stepping up more," he said.

"I'm not talking about pledging, I am talking about writing the cheques," he added.

The European Commission wants to triple the amount of money for migration in the next EU budget. Earlier this week, EU agencies, NGOs, and the mayor of Athens gave their views at a European parliament public hearing.

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